On Sunday, March 8, 2020 I preached a sermon titled, The Apologetic of Fulfilled Scripture from Mark 14. On that Sunday, we forced ourselves out of bed after losing an hour of sleep to daylight savings time, gathered with our LifeGroups, shook hands, hugged friends, and crowded into our sanctuary shoulder to shoulder. We had no idea that it would be the last time that we would gather inside of our buildings for worship for a few months. In fact, we even held regular Wednesday night activities on March 11.
The circumstances in Camden, SC, our community, changed quickly. During the week of March 8, Camden proved to be a major outbreak center for COVID-19 in South Carolina. I spent most of Saturday, March 14 in conversations with our church leaders, other pastors, and infectious disease experts within our community. We decided that we would cancel LifeGroups and children’s ministry activities and only meet for worship. However, at about 6:00 PM our city government requested that churches cancel corporate worship to slow the spread of coronavirus. We acquiesced to their request and moved to an online platform.
We haven’t worshiped in our sanctuary in over 7 weeks. In those weeks we have improved our online delivery, begun a parking lot worship service, and discovered new ways of doing ministry.
I have cried, wrestled with despair, and celebrated God’s goodness and grace–sometimes all within the same hour. And yet, here we still are. Crying out to God to heal our land, restore our worship opportunities, and preserve the livelihood of millions of people. Here we are with hope for the future, but frustration in the present. Here we are, anxious to return to normal, but with no real idea for what it will look like and when it will take place. Here we are, navigating waters that have never been explored and traversing landscapes for which there are no maps.
But all isn’t lost. My dad always told me, “As long as you have gas in your tank, you are never lost.” We are not lost. Our compass isn’t broken. These days are unique and challenging, but God is still on his throne, the Great Commission and the Great Commandment are still our marching orders, the Holy Spirit has not left his people, and Jesus is still sitting at the right hand of the Father.
It is with those thoughts in mind that I urge churches (and my church) to consider the following as they navigate their next steps toward re-opening for corporate worship:
Prepare For Nothing to Change
I hope that we can gather corporately in our sanctuary in some way in coming weeks (maybe sometime during June), but I have absolutely no idea if that is possible. Therefore, we are making plans to continue our worship and ministry via social distancing for the foreseeable future. We have upgraded our technology so that we can provide better online delivery. We are training more people to run our online services and preparing other pastors to deliver online messages. By planning for nothing to change, we are improving our services right now and making sure that we are better prepared if we have to do this again in the fall or winter.
Prioritize In-Person Gatherings
Not everyone can do this, but if you can, prioritize the in-person gatherings of your local body. Online services are nice and we are grateful for the opportunity, but they are not the gathered church of Christ (see Why Online Worship Leaves You Wanting More). Malvern Hill is a bit unique in that we are able to offer a parking lot service that is live-streamed at the same time. In so doing we can minister to those who can get out and those who are stuck at home. When we decided to move worship outdoors we knew that we would diminish the quality of our online offering, but we believe that the gathering of believers is important enough to prioritize the in-person experience over the online offering. Find a way to gather in person. If you have to use a school parking lot or schedule multiple services, do what you must. Hebrews 10:24-25 urges us to “consider how to stir up one another to love and good works.” So, consider what you can do to stir up one another and “not neglect to meet together.” It hasn’t been announced yet, but as long as our government continues to move toward more openness, our church will have a tailgate worship service in a few weeks where we will not only have our parking lot worship, but will invite people to bring coolers and grills and enjoy one another outdoors while maintaining distance.
Make A Plan (Or Three)
We have dreamed up three or four different scenarios for how we may return to corporate worship inside our facilities. Those plans are based off of what we think might happen. We have no idea what the next two weeks or two months hold. So, we have penciled in some plans for 20% capacity worship services, 50% capacity services, and even for a resurgence of social distancing measures in the fall. Will you move to multiple services? If you do, how will you assign (yes, you may have to assign people to certain services so that you do not exceed capacity) people to services? What will you do about kids ministry and student ministry (Side note: decisions about particular ministry areas in your church should rely heavily on input from leaders in those areas. Do not allow a pandemic to turn you into a dictatorial leader.)? Make a plan and communicate that plan at the appropriate time.
Involve Your People
We will be sending out a survey with questions for our people so that we can gauge their comfort levels about a return to normal. I want to know what sort of dates they have in mind. I also want to know what concerns them most about gathering together again. The wisdom of a church is not isolated to her pastor(s). At Malvern Hill, our deacons will play an important role in decisions that we make moving forward. Who will you involve?
Prioritize Small Groups
Small groups have to be a major part of your planning process. There is a high likelihood that corporate worship will return to your campus before small group or Sunday School meetings return. How will you equip your small groups to meet together? Will you urge them to have outdoor fellowships and video conference meetings? Does your local government allow for them to meet in homes? Can they meet in your sanctuary and spread out to maintain distancing? Work with your LifeGroup leaders to make sure they know that they matter and then equip them to care for their people.
Live-Stream Is Here to Stay
Watching a sermon from your couch in your pajamas is not the same thing as gathering with your church body. However, many people will be hesitant to gather in large groups for a long time. Until a vaccine is widely available, those who are most vulnerable to this disease may need to stay home. Make sure that you are planning to care for the vulnerable in your congregation. Continue to live-stream, make CDs or DVDs if necessary.
Equip Your People For Evangelism
The Great Commission doesn’t take a vacation. Equip your people to share Jesus in their own neighborhoods and to minister to the people around them. The days for large scale event-evangelism are on hiatus, but that the mission of Jesus continues. Don’t allow the pandemic to rob you of your evangelistic zeal.
Be Patient
About once a week, one of our kids informs us, “I don’t like this.” I let them know that I don’t like it either, but we have to be patient. I can hardly wait to get back to normal, but I don’t want to rush to “normal” and create more harm. One way that we love our neighbor during these times is doing all we can to slow the transmission of COVID-19. Also, church members, be patient with your pastoral staff. They have been working hard to make things happen over the last two months. As we begin to turn the corner, they may be working even harder and putting in more hours with multiple services and/or supporting small groups as they try to figure out technology options.
Be Humble
You do not know what the future holds. I don’t know what the future holds. None of us fully understand COVID-19. Your plans may differ from mine or the church down the street. Your thoughts may not even be the same as those in your own congregation. Most people are doing the best they can with the resources at their disposal. Assume the best in your brother or sister in Christ. Assume that if your church leadership makes a decision, they believe they are doing the right thing to honor the Lord and care for you. Trust them, encourage and support them. They are fallible just like you, but they are trying to be faithful. Micah 6:8 should guide our steps during these days:
He has told you, O man, what is good;
and what does the Lord require of you
but to do justice, and to love kindness,
and to walk humbly with your God?
What comes next? I have no idea. But I know who holds the future and in him I have confidence. I continue to believe that the best days of Christ’s church are ahead. Will you join with me in praying for wisdom for our churches as they make decisions for the days ahead?
See Travis Agnew’s Questions to Answer Before Reopening Church Gatherings
